Samsung ordered to pay Apple $129m for patent infringements

Updated
Sun 4 May 2014, 7:25 AM AEST

A US jury has ordered electronics company Samsung to pay $129 million to Apple, in what experts see as a big loss for the iPhone maker in the latest round of their globe-spanning mobile patent litigation.

During the month-long trial in a San Jose federal court in California, Apple accused Samsung of violating patents on smartphone features including universal search, while Samsung denied wrongdoing.

On Friday (local time), the jury found the South Korean smartphone maker had infringed two Apple patents.

But jurors also found credence in counterclaims by Samsung and said Apple should pay its rival $170,000 in damages.

Apple and Samsung have been litigating around the world for three years. Jurors awarded the iPhone maker about $930 million after a 2012 trial in San Jose, but Apple failed to persuade US District Judge Lucy Koh to issue a permanent injunction against the sale of Samsung phones in the United States.

Some industry observers see the ongoing legal dispute as an attempt by Apple to curtail the rapid growth of phones based on Google Inc's rival Android software. Samsung is by far the largest adopter of the operating platform.

Assistant professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law Brian Love says the outcome was not much of a victory for the iPhone maker.

"Though this verdict is large by normal standards, it is hard to view this outcome as much of a victory for Apple," he said.

"This amount is less than 10 per cent of the amount Apple requested, and probably doesn't surpass by too much the amount Apple spent litigating this case.

"Apple launched this litigation campaign years ago with aspirations of slowing the meteoric rise of Android phone manufacturers. It has so far failed to do so, and this case won't get it any closer."

The current case involves five Apple patents that were not in the 2012 trial and that cover iPhone features such as slide-to-unlock and search technology.

Apple is seeking to ban sales of several Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S III, and had sought just over $2 billion in damages.

It will now be up to Judge Koh to decide whether a sales ban is warranted, though legal expert Michael Carrier says that is unlikely.

"An injunction is extremely unlikely ... The Federal Circuit sets a high bar," said Professor Carrier, from the Rutgers Law School.

Responding to the verdict, Apple said the ruling reinforced its stance that "Samsung wilfully stole our ideas and copied our products".

Samsung representatives were not immediately available for comment.

Debate over patent law abuse

The shortfall in damages for Apple led some experts to again question whether patent litigation amongst the technology industry's largest players, which has been on the rise in past years, was a viable strategy.

Critics have argued that patent litigation can be abused and can hinder innovation. Its advocates say litigating helps innovators protect their intellectual property and benefit from them.

"What the verdict shows is that Apple's patents did not play a significant role in consumer decisions," Professor Carrier wrote.

"One wonders if the endless smartphone patent wars, costing millions and putting the focus on the courtroom rather than the innovation lab, are worth it."

During the trial, Samsung argued that Apple had vastly exaggerated the importance of its patented iPhone features, while Apple said the South Korean company could not have competed in the smartphone market without unfairly copying its flagship product.

In the San Jose trial, the jury found that Samsung had infringed two patents, and the judge had ruled before trial that Samsung had infringed a third. The jury also found Apple had infringed on one of the Korean company's own patents.